NASAdude

In one of the most detailed astronomical images ever produced, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is offering an unprecedented look at the Orion Nebula. This turbulent star-formation region is one of astronomy's most dramatic and photogenic celestial objects.

The crisp image reveals a tapestry of star formation, from the dense pillars of gas and dust that may be the homes of fledgling stars to the hot, young, massive stars that have emerged from their gas-and-dust cocoons and are shaping the nebula with their powerful ultraviolet light.
-- Source

The Orion Nebula is about 1600 light years away, and 33 light years across. Read more about it on wikipedia.

- more Hubble images
- wallpaper-sized verion of above photo (285kB, 1057x846) -- no high-res version available yet

Posted by NASAdude at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other day I heard an unexpected clunk from the back of my car as I was parking. The next time I drove it, the clunk reappeared when cornering. It's never a good feeling when you know something is wrong, but don't know what it is or how much it will cost to repair.

Today I pulled the tire and found the stabilizer/sway bar linkage was broken on the driver's side. It took an hour to get the remaining nut off; in the end I sheared it with brute force. At least it came off without the use of a torch or hacksaw.

The part was $12. The total project time was three hours. The casualties: one broken socket and a few scraped knuckles.

Prior projects on this car:
- replaced rear brake pads, rotors, and calipers
- replaced power window motor
- replaced brake lamp
- replaced serpentine belt
- various filters, etc
(It's nice having a newer car that doesn't require much work!)

Prior projects on previous car:
- replaced oxygen sensor
- replaced rear struts
- replaced entire exhaust from the manifold back (using only ramps!)
- replaced tires

Posted by NASAdude at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Glow-in-the-dark porkers!

As seen in daylight.

While Dark Angel is a fictional tale of how government abuses ignore human rights, and how the general population sees transgenics as sub-human, the real world can gain great benefits from the work.

In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge.

In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright.
The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material is green, it is easy to spot.

So if, for instance, some of its stem cells are injected into another animal, scientists can track how they develop without the need for a biopsy or invasive test.

-- Source

Posted by NASAdude at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tired of telemarketers? Get back at them by playing their own game. Here's a script of questions you can follow to annoy them.

Posted by NASAdude at 01:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Monopoly, of course. It's fun the first few times, but as you get older and wiser, you'd rather chew off your own leg than play it.

One way I have played it to make it faster is to simply deal out all the property at the game start, and give everyone a chance to auction properties. This makes life a little easier.

I came across a site that lists lots of modifications to the usual rule set. I picked out a few of the most interesting to share.

Images from Fark.

Players may build houses on any property they own, even if they do not have a complete set. If a player lands on a property which has been improved, they can either pay what they owner asks, up to a maximum of the normal amount required, or they may instead pay rent to any other owner of one of the other properties in the group, paying whatever rent that owner requests. If the player chooses to pay a different owner, including his or her own property in the group, then the player also moves his or her token to that property.

Partnership

Two or more players may agree to form a partnership with a property group in which they have a monopoly between them. Each partner may then purchase houses or hotels for the property they own as long as they follow rules for building evenly. A player may leave the partnership between dice rolls, forcing all players in the partnership to sell all of their buildings.

Profit Sharing

Two or more players may agree to split the rent from a property or set of properties.

Immunity

A player may grant full or partial immunity from paying rent on one or more of his or her properties as part of negotiations. The details of the immunity are up to the players involved in the trade.

I think Partnership, Profit Sharing, and Immunity go all hand-in-hand. ie: If two players share the Boardwalk and Park Place properties, they could create a partnership to allow for building houses/hotels, share profits, and let each other rent for free. Those two players, along with other properties they share, will likely be a real challenge for the other players.

Other good/interesting rules to check out:
Instant Hotels: no need to buy houses incrementally before the hotel (avoids housing shortage problems)
Double Prices: properties are bought at twice the listed price (so you actually have to think before you buy)
Traveling Railroads: "rent" on a RR allows you to move to any other railroad with the same owner
Six Railroads: The two utilities are treated as additional RRs
Dice Control: A player can choose to roll one or both dice. However, rolling a "1" sends you to jail for an "impossible" move on the board.
Maximum Punishment: when in jail, you can't earn any money; you can buy your way out for $100
Two Tokens: each player uses two pieces on the board
Uneven Building: when you have a monopoly on a property set, building doesn't need to be balanced
Doubling Up: two tokens may not exist on any property; the penalty is returning to Go (no payment). This gives lower-valued properties more traffic.

Based on the fact that all these playing options exists, it's clear that I'm not the only one to find the game tedious, creating a need for ways to make it more interesting.

If you, like me, are still concerned about the game taking too long, just employ the ultimate rule:

Sudden Death

Before the game begins, one player is secretly and randomly determined to be the "Angel of Death". This can be done by having one slip of paper put into a hat for each player, with a star on one of them, and then each player draws a slip. The Angel of Death player has the option, once the game has been played for two hours, of smashing the board and declaring the game over without any winner.

Posted by NASAdude at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Disturbing Auctions has lots of unusual items. It inspired this article. I was amazed at the scope of the preemie doll market. Google Images turned up 374 hits, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre.

Wee Bundles offers preemie dolls from 5lbs down to less than 8oz. The smallest can't be ordered over the internet. Are they screening out the weirdos?

And yet some more.

I really don't understand the purpose of dolls in general, but these seem to be disturbing on a whole new level. Or maybe it's just me. Disturbed, that is.

Posted by NASAdude at 01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It started with a dream, a dream to get $1,000,000 (and more) from greedy marketers.

And it worked!

You can be the last. The last 1000 pixels (50x20 block), with a list-value of $1000, are up for sale on ebay. As of this writing, it's already selling for over $150,000. You have three days left to beat the highest bid.

But it won't bring you any happiness.

Update:
The auction is now closed, with a winning bid of $38,100. This is typical for many high-end Ebay auctions; bidders back out so the ending bid doesn't meet the hype.

Posted by NASAdude at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What makes unique so valuable? A $20 bill with a Del Monte sticker under the serial number turned up. It's valued at more than 1000 times its face value.

How did it get there? The famed "Del Monte note," a $20 bill with a Del Monte sticker on it that sold on eBay for $10,100 in 2003, was sold again Friday for $25,300 at an auction in Orlando, Fla. The seal and serial number are printed on top of the sticker. -- Source

So what exactly does unique mean?

yu-'nEk

• 1 : being the only one
• 2 a : being without a like or equal b : distinctively characteristic
• 3 : unusual

What makes something unique; what makes it valuable? Every $20 bill is unique, with its own serial number, its own subtle variations in the inking, paper, fibers, and more. So is this Del Monte $20 bill more unique than the others?

A commentary within the m-w.com definition includes a discussion on including qualifiers with the word. The argument is that unique is an absolute, and therefore something that is unique cannot be more unique than another. The accepted conclusion is that the first two definitions cannot include qualifiers, but the third case can. So if you are talking about something being unusual (3rd definition of unique), then it might be more unique (more unusual) than something else that is unique (unusual).

Since every $20 bill is unique, the Del Monte bill must be valuable because it is more unique, specifically, more unusual. The value must be coming from the unusual characteristic.

What makes you unique? There are 6.5 billion people now (more by the time you read this), so the odds that your haircut, clothes, occupation, skills, personality, etc are truly singularly unique are improbable. Sure, your DNA is unique (in theory); your molecular configuration is unique; and the combination of your haircut/clothes/occupation/skills/personality/etc are probably unique. But does that instill any value if *everyone* is "unique" in the same way?

As a society, we value what is unusual (unique); it's not an absolute singular form of unique.

• Approximately 1-in-1000 people in the US are considered to be famous, for one reason or another. They may not be singularly unique in being famous, but society still gives that status a special value.


• It used to be that a million dollars was a lot of money. Now it's billions. There are about 700 billionaires in the world. Roughly half of those are in the US. That's about 1-in-1,000,000. So billionaires are more unique than famous people (arguably billionaires are a subset of famous people). So society would value that more.


• It's all about keeping up with the Jones's. Put an addition on the house; buy a more expensive/bigger/luxurious vehicle, etc. You're trying to emulate the "unique" subset of society that is special. Maybe it will bring happiness.

I recently watched 20/20 special: Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity. Here's a text synopsis. The ones that are most relevant to this article are:

• Myth No. 9 — We Have Less Free Time Than We Used To


• Myth No. 8 — American Families Need Two Incomes


• Myth No. 7 — Money Can Buy Happiness


• Myth No. 1 — Life Is Getting Worse

Supporting documentation for Myth No. 7 includes:

Money magazine columnist Jean Chatsky polled 1,500 people for her book You Don't Have to Be Rich and found that more money makes people significantly happier only if their family income's below $30,000, but by $50,000, money makes no difference.

"Once you get to that $50,000 level, more money doesn't buy more happiness," she said. Happiness researchers agree with Simmons and Chatsky: Purposeful work is what makes people happy. And finding religion. And family.

Why do we put unique/rare/special on a pedestal? On that pedestal, we seek it out to make ourselves happy. I argue that we shouldn't. Here's what you can do:

• For a month turn off the TV, radio, movies. You might just find that you like it!


• Don't buy luxury items. A single vehicle for a family doesn't make you less of a person. Both parents don't have to work if you live within your means. (Remember, more than $30k/yr won't bring any more happiness.)


• Don't use revolving credit. If you use credit cards for convenience, pay them off in full every month. Most cards allow you to auto-pay your bill from a bank account, but they don't advertise this service. Call them for an "auto-pay" application. You'll never have to worry about late fees, postage, or interest again.


• Go to church/synagogue/mosque. Simmons and Chatsky say that finding religion brings happiness. But do it with a twist. Go in your old work clothes that you use for cleaning the house, working in the garden, fixing the car, etc. Wear a [washed] grungy shirt and pants. Or go in your PJs. Don't bother with a fancy haircut/do/style or makeup. The purpose of going to church is not to impress others.


• Life doesn't have to be complicated. If you like these ideas, the best way to make yourself happy is to find friends who share them. They are friends who like you for being you. They don't care about your new car, your fancy clothes, or how much you know about current popular TV shows.

Posted by NASAdude at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)